Barnesville Village Council Meeting – May 20, 2024
At the last village council meeting, two bids were opened for oil and gas leases additional miscellaneous parcels not bid on in previous bids. One bid was from Blue Baron Energy, the firm that was awarded a recent contract on village owned land outside of the corporation in Warren Township, and Grenadier Energy Partners, the firm that Blue Baron intends to use for production of its leases.
Blue Baron bid on 16.92 acres while Grenadier bid on 59.5 acres. A representative of Grenadier at the meeting noted that since his firm was going to do the work for Blue Baron leases, they were willing to lease more acreage.
Grenadier is also currently actively pursuing leases from private property owners in the village.
The bids for both offered five-year leases at $6,750 per acre with a 20 percent royalty clause and the possibility of a one-time renewal for five additional years.
Council voted to move forward with the Grenadier lease assuming both are similar. Village solicitor Richard Myser will review the documents, and if similar, return them with an ordinance for consideration at the June 3 meeting.
Mayor Jake Hersberger reported of an upcoming meeting with Bel-O-Mar to discuss applying for a Safe Routes to School Grant that can be used for streets and sidewalks within two miles of school buildings. The federal program, administered by states to provide resources, technical assistance and project funding to encourage and enable students in grades K-12 to walk or ride their bike to school. This program is funded in Ohio at $5 million annually for projects in five categories: Engineering, Encouragement, Education, Enforcement and Evaluation.
Village fiscal officer Jeannie Hannahs asked council to approve Ordinance #3971 as an emergency to amend the current budget by $292,010.54 to cover a lawsuit settlement with the Ohio Public Works Commission. The ordinance was passed on a 5-1 vote with councilmember Terry McCort opposed.
The issue relates to property purchased adjacent to Slope Creek Reservoir years ago using an Ohio Green Space grant. Conditions of the grant did not allow oil and gas leases on the subject property. The village did lease the property which triggered the lawsuit.
Since that time, the lease has generated an amount slightly higher than the amount of the settlement.
Brian Yarnall asked who is empowered as the village code enforcement officer. Mayor Jake Hershberger said by ordinance the code enforcement officers include the Village Administrator, Police Chief and Fire Chief and that a meeting of the three recently took place regarding the matter. Fire Chief Tim Hall added properties with issues are currently being prioritized for follow up and enforcement.
Village Administrator Roger Deal reported the loss of two employees in the street department. The jobs are currently posted.
Deal thanked employees for their extra efforts getting the downtown flower baskets and American Flags hung prior to Memorial Day. He also reported crews were busy trying to get the town’s three cemeteries trimmed before the holiday.
Deal shared with council another glitch in the railroad tunnel, walking path project. ODOT bid out the project, but bids came in over $500,000 more than current estimates. Council member Steven Hill suggested cutting back the project to focus on the tunnel. Deal noted ODOT oversees the project and may, or may not, increase the state’s commitment to the grant project. The estimated cost of the project outlined in the bid was $2.8 million.
A long-term lease with Warren Township for a half-acre parcel on Pultney Avenue (Ordinance #3969) was approved 6-0 on the third reading.
Downtown building owners will soon need to post address numbers on the rear of each structure. Barnesville Chief Tim Hall asked the council to consider the request to speed fire and emergency personnel who may need to access buildings from the rear. The council agreed with the proposal and asked that owners initially be notified by mail of the requirement.
Following a discussion regarding the former United Dairy property, council decided to move forward reestablishing a lease with the First Christian Church to use the vacant land. The church uses the land for parking for the nearby Watt Avenue recreation and events facility, The Anchor. The initial 2020 lease was not reviewed or renewed by the village in 2022. The new lease will run through 2026.
Councilmember Brian Yarnall suggested the village consider selling the property to the church. President Tony Johnson and administrator Roger Deal noted the land was leased not sold four years ago because the large water service line to the Greenmount Avenue water tower crosses the property.
In other matters, Deal reported receipt of a successful grant from the Ohio EPA of $10,000 to purchase fire hydrant equipment and waterline locaters.
Mayor Hersberger reported April Mayor’s Court receipts totaling $1,830. Of this amount, $509 was remitted to the state and $18.00 to the county, leaving a balance of $1,303 for the village.
In other actions, council:
- Approved the following building permits: Carl McEndree, 404 Park Street, new residence, and Christopher Keylor, 107 Cole Street, new porch
- A pay ordinance of $179,463.23 was approved
- Council approved a donation of $400 to the fire department for the June 8 fishing tournament
- A used tractor owned by Warren Township was purchased by the village for $7,000. The township had the opportunity to trade the unit as part of their purchase of a new grader but offered it to the village instead
- Fire chief Tim Hall reported Fire and EMS members trained on two decommissioned school buses at the Watt Center on May 16
- The proposed downtown business loan program was discussed, and initial written guidelines shared with members to review
The next meeting of the council is scheduled for this coming Monday in the municipal building at 7:00. A copy of the agenda is currently posted on the village website.
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